An Approach to Tabling by So What? Press

Dave Kelly of So What? Press recently shared with me how he and his partner in crime, Lara Antal, decide which comics fests to attend every year. Dave says, “We were inspired to do this by the band Fugazi who had a similar "code" about when and where to play concerts.”

• Admission must be under $10/day or free.
• Show must be curated - - you want to feel good about being there.
• No more than one fest per month - - unless one is in NYC.
• Table price must include two badges, two chairs.
• Fest cannot run longer than two days.
• Never pay more than $100/half table, $200/full - - and always share whenever possible.

“We break the rules every once in awhile, but they've proven their worth - - and not just monetarily, but in overall positivity of the experience.  The winning combination is always a free, one-day show, in NYC - - you can never go wrong, haha!

The disclaimer: we do break our own rules sometimes and do not put ourselves above any festival.  We know there are logistical reasons why some festivals charge higher table prices.  The ultimate point, though, is that "the rules" have helped inform our decision-making process as well as improve our exposure and performance.”

Breakers Release at Desert Island 4/25

In October last year I was invited to study at a three-week-long residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Dave Kelly and Lara Antal of So What? Press have created an anthology of work from the residency, Breakers. I'm very honored to be part of it and will be at the official launch party, hosted by Desert Island on April 25th. From the press release:

The book will have its East Coast premiere at Desert Island, 540 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, NY on Thursday, April 25th at 7:00 pm.  The event is free and open to the public.  Beer and cookies (in the shape of sharks) will be provided.  The book will be offered at a discounted price of $10.00 at this event. 
The book will be available in stores and online the following week.  So What? Press handles all distribution worldwide.  For more information, visit www.sowhatpress.com. 

So What? Press, the new publishing imprint headed by Dave Kelly & Lara Antal, is set to release Breakers, an anthology of comics featuring Ellen Forney, Dean Haspiel, Megan Kelso, and twenty-two other outstanding cartoonists:  Jessica Ruliffson, Gabrielle Gamboa, Gregory MacKay, Lark Pien, Boum (Samantha Leriche-Gionet), Nusha Ashjaee, George Folz, Jp Pollard, Jen Breach, Lara Antal, Rebecca Case, Jean Chen, Julie Condon, Gabrielle Greenlee, Lynda May, K-Fai Steele, Theresa Coulter, Sean Ironman, Christa Cassano, Fionnuala Doran, James Greene, and Meghan Lands.

From the back cover:
In October 2012, twenty-six comics creators descended upon Central Florida for a three-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.  These lost souls were set adrift in an incubator of creativity amidst killer sharks, a local nude beach, and other primordial nature.  Under the tutelage of Ellen Forney, Dean Haspiel, and Megan Kelso, a body of work was generated that interwove many similar themes based on their new found tropical isolation.  What you hold in your hands is a summation of that experience, a document of a wondrous blur of creative freedom, and perhaps an artifact of a comics paradise lost.

A Belated Reflection

2012 was an incredible year. I visited veterans at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with the Joe Bonham Project, studied cartooning for three magical weeks with Dean Haspiel and a whole mess of  other talented cartoonists at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, tabled at SPX, published an eight page nonfiction comics piece in the Oxford American New South Journalism Issue, received a Sequential Artists Workshop Micro-grant for self publishing, and made lots of new friends and new work. 2013 has already been a busy time, here's to watching it all unfold. Special thanks to Josh Kramer, Dean Haspiel, Tom Hart, Studio Yolo, Victor Juhasz, and The Joe Bonham Project artists for pushing me to make my very best work.

Sketchbook Pages from ACA Comics Residency

I had the honor and great experience of taking part in a three-week long residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida this past October. Things have finally settled down long enough for me to post these sketchbook pages.

(An outdoor yoga session taught by Ellen Forney and Lara Antal.)

(Clever hats on a boat tour.)

(Birds and houses and trees seen from the boat.)

(Gabby Gamboa, Lark Pien, Eleanor Davis, and Leela Corman in Gainseville, Fl.)

(Sketching one of the ACA interns, Greg.)

(Greg seated, three views.)

Paul Studies and First Pages

Here is what I have been drawing the past few days. I'm working on a story from a veteran who I have not yet met in real life, it's been interesting translating this story into a comic. I'm trying to develop cleaner lines and possibly do more with less digitally with this story.

Page One Pencil

Page 2 Pencil

Studies of Paul, done from photographs.

Drawing Paul from memory, making a character.

Florida Week Two

I'm here at a three week comics residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in eastern/central Florida, a few miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean, in the midst of saw palmettos and stands tiny magnolias and brushy oak trees. It's already the beginning of the second week and time is moving quickly.
I got through sixteen pages of thumbnails in just a few days, which was a new personal best. Hoping to work faster! I learned some cool Photoshop moves from George Folz, his comics are really cool, check them out on his Tumblr here. Hopefully laying out pages will be less of a struggle now. Gonna try it out now.

Here's the thumbnails, pre-Dean Haspiel edits (they look a bit different now). These are only half of them, the other thumbnails were vague and uninteresting, because I drew them too small initially, and when I blew them up I drew them very fast.

This story is beautifully written by a friend-of-a-friend, Paul David Mansfield. He's an incredibly gifted storyteller, and it has been such an amazing experience to translate his words into comics. I will post pencils soon, I can't wait to share this story.

Also, currently obsessed with Bon Iver's newly-minted Stems Project, a collection of remixes from the most recent album. Not much of it is on Youtube, but you can find it on Spotify.

First Days in Florida

I've been at the Atlantic Center for the Arts Comic Book Residency with Dean Haspiel for the past few days. It's a wonderful and amazing program so far, here's some pictures of the vegetation, art folk, and other assorted items.

New studio space.

They have tea here, and we each got a mug :)

Outside the painting studio, where we are camped.

Inside the painting studio, view from my desk.

On the first day, we met most of the day and talked about our projects.

Dean imparts some wisdom to us.

Megan's amazing comic thumbnails during crit.

James' inked pages during crit.

Megan, Gregory, and Fionnula on a walk down the road.

Turnbull Bay and a heron!

Baby banana spider catching the sunset in his web.

Following Fionnula to dinner.

Dirt road between housing and art buildings.

My place.